Real LI

Here it is -- the New American Home 2008. "The sprawling, two-story plantation-style residence in a prestigious Lake Nona, Fla., subdivision has a $4.8-million price tag and, as a featured attraction of the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla., pulled in thousands of visitors last week," writes Gary Dymski. The house may be nearly 7,000 square feet (with an additional 2,950 square feet of covered outdoor living space), but it is also totally green. Read all about it here.

Many of the industry pros visiting the IBS event in Orlando believe that the NAHB's new Green Building Program will put added pressure on builders and contractors to perform.

In the past, most new home buyers seemed more concerned with ammenities, such as countertops and flooring, than energy efficiency.

But it's been slowing turning, says John Barrows of J. Barrows Inc., an East Hampton remodeler builder. Barrows, a green-building instructor in Orlando, says more and more new home-buyers are concerned with the energy performance of their home. He says it's about consumers being more educated.

Most contractors seem to believe that as green building becomes the norm, it will be up to them to bear more responsibility. "Our competition is the resale home," says Tony Panza of Turtle Pond Builders, a Southampton custom-home builder. "To beat the competition, we have to offer green and energy efficiency."

Builders who turn out green products will have a distinct advantage, he says. Prospective home buyers will expect new structures to be more eco-friendly, use less energy and be better insulated. Those old standbys, wood floors, vaulted ceilings and custom kitchens, will be secondary

Officials from the National Association of Home Builders, sponsors of the International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla., last week, predicted about a 10 percent drop in attendance from the 2007 event. Apparently, they were pretty accurate. Attendance for the 2007 show was about 104,000; the figure for 2008 dipped to 92,000, a drop of about 12 percent, according to the NAHB.

At nearly 11,000 square feet, overlooking a lake and with a $4.8 million price tag, the New American Home 2008 should have a WOW factor. And it does. But it's not so much about the bells and whistles as it is about one key factor -- warmth. I can't believe a home of this size has such a warm feel. But designer Dan F. Sater, an acclaimed Southwest Florida architect pulled it off.

I've seen four of these grandiose show homes, and this one is by far the most inviting. With prefinished wood floors and earth-tone carpeting and wall applications, you can imagine Paula Dean making a pecan pie in one of its three (or is it four?) kitchens. It's got a real Southern feel, and, well, I just like it.

The New American Home is a feature attraction of the NAHB International Builders Show. This year's show completes a four-year run in Orlando, and the home is about 10 miles from downtown Orlando, in a high-end subdivision being built off Lake Nona. Last year's home was in an urban setting, and it was a four-story mix of contemporary design and hard, cold materials. Concrete, steel and glass seemed to be everywhere. But this year's version, the 25th in the series, is sunny by comparison.

This is a big home, but it's open-air space of 2,900 square feet makes if feel smaller. It's hard to explain, but when two remote-controlled sliding doors open in the rear of the home, an inground pool and hot tub seem to appear at your feet. The doors open and bring in the outdoors. They don't push visitors out. It's good stuff.

Now, it's supposed to be green, as in eco-friendly, and we'll examine that at another time.

But, if first impressions count for anything, this home is a keeper.